Berger



B. WEINBERGER.

GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1. 1915.

L1 WNW PatentedAug. 1,1916.

BENJAMIN WEINBERGER, 015 S1. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR '10 UNITED STATES HOFFMAN COMPANY, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION.

GARMENT-PRESSING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 191d.

Application filed June 1, 1915. Serial No. 31,497.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN Wam- BERGER, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Garment-Pressing Machines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in garment pressing machines adapted also for pressing various kinds of fabric and refers more particularly to means for withdrawing steam and moisture of condensation from the garment after being moistened and pressed in a manner wellknown in machines of this character.

The main object is to accelerate the drying of the arment immediately following the moistemng and pressing operation by forcibly expelling the steam and moisture of condensation therefrom, preferably by suction.

The press plates of the pressing elements are usually covered with press cloths or pads which tend to retain more or less moisture of condensation, and another object of my invention is to reduce this tendency to a minimum by withdrawing the moistenedvapor therefrom through the same medium by which it is withdrawn from the garment.

A further object is to provide simple means operable at will for controlling the action of the suction device upon the garment and padded portion of one of the pressing elements.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the device will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawingslFigure 1 is a top plan of a portion of a clothes pressing machine, embodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

This machine is somewhat similar to that shown in the patent to A. J. Hofi'man, No. 928,199, issued July 13, .1909, in that the press head as--1 is movable toward and from a buck -2- and is provided with a foraminous press plate through which the steam is projected to the garment while the pressing elements are in their pressing positions. Steam from any available source of supply may be admitted to the interior of the press head through a suitable supply pipe -3 having a normally closed valve,

4 adapted to be opened at will by the operatlon of a hand-piece 5--, one end of the pipe 3 being connected by a gland 6 to the main supply pipe 3, said gland being co-axial with the axis of move-' ment of the head 1.

. The buck -2- is shown as provided with non-communicating chambers 8-- and 9 and a perforated press plate 10, the latter forming the upper side of the chamber 9 and is preferably covered by a foramlnous pad 11 of fabric or other suitable material for receiving and supporting a garment or cloth to be pressed. Thechamber -8 constitutes what may be termed a heating chamber to which live steam may be supplied from any available source through a pipe 12-. The chamher -9-- constitutes a suction chamber in direct communication with the apertures in the press plate 10- and is connected by a pipe -13- to a suction pump-4tor equivalent device whereby the moistened Vapor or water of condensation may be withdrawn from the garment through the perforated plate 10 and chamber 9- and dilivered to a waste pipe or to the atmosp ere.

The suction pipe -13 is provided with a normally closed self-closing valve -15 adapted to be opened at will by any suitable mechanism, as for example by the operation of pedal lever 16 and suitable links -17- and -18 leading to and from a bell-crank lever 19, the link 18- being connected directly to the stem of the valve -15-.

In operation, the garment may be spread out by hand upon the pad 1l on the top of the buck 2 and then subjected to pressure by the lowering of the press head 1-, during which operation a blast of steam may be introduced through the head upon the garment by opening the valve 4- through the medium of the handle 5, thereby moistening the garment simultaneously with the mechanical pressure sufficient to permit the garment to be properly shaped without excessive saturation, it being understood that the steam for moistening the garment is admitted only for an instant while under such pressure, whereupon the press head may be elevated in the usual manner and the valve -l5 opened to allow any steam or moisture of condensation which may be retained in the garment or pad 11 to be instantly withdrawn, thus producing a quick drying of the garment and pad instantly u on the opening of said valve. It is, course, evident that the a valve 15 in the suction pipe may be opened at any time it may be desired to additionally dry the garment or remove any moisture of condensation which may collect on the pad 11-, and in fact it may be opened while the press head is still in its pressing position to produce the same drying effect both upon the garment and upon the pad, under which conditions the pad on the lower face of the press head: would also be instantly dried from any moisture of the steam 'or condensation.

,By using this suction device in the manner just described, the output of work accomplished is greatly increased; the garment is instantly dried and may be put on and worn with safety immediately followering their meeting faces, means for introducing steam between said pads, and means for withdrawing by suction the steam from between such pads.

3. In a machine for pressing and shaping garments in combination with cooperative 5. In a garment pressing machine, the

combination of cooperative pressing elements, means for distributing steam across and upon the garment, and a suction device for withdrawing steam from said garment.

.6. In a garment pressing machine, cooperative pressing elements, one of which is provided with a heating chamber and a separate steam chamber opening through its press plate, means for supplying steam to said chamber and a'suction device connected to the steam chamber for withdrawing moisture therefrom and from the garment.

7. In a garment pressing machine, in combination with cooperative pressing elements, one of which is provided with a steam chamber opening through its pressplate, means for supplying steam to said chamber, a suction pipe connected to the chamber and provided with a normally closed valve, and means operable at will for Y opening said valve.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of May, 1915.

BENJAMIN WEINBERGER.

Witnesses SAMUEL GoLnsrmN, JAMES B. SPENCER. 

